Two ISIS Recruits Arrested by FBI in Southern California

22 May 2015Los Angeles, CA

NBC News reports that the FBI has arrested two men in Southern California on terrorism-related charges, specifically a plan to hook up with ISIS in Syria.

One of the suspects was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport, although the report does not say if he was actually beginning his jihad pilgrimage to Syria or was bound for some other destination at the time of his arrest. The other suspect was arrested somewhere in Orange County.

According to NBC, neither was armed at the time of his arrest, and neither was considered an imminent threat to public safety in the United States. Following a joint terrorism task force investigation, the FBI said the two men “fit a pattern of individuals who have been recruited by ISIS as foreign fighters, particularly through social media propaganda.”

Two search warrants have been served in connection with the case; presumably the FBI will be interested in reviewing the suspects’ web browsing habits and social media activity.

Reuters adds that the two suspects are due in federal court in Santa Ana on Friday. It is not clear from these reports if the two individuals were in communication with each other and acting in concert, or if they were two entirely independent ISIS recruits picked up by the same joint task force investigation.